44 chapter two
Application of Basic PhilosophyThe above set of Islamic ideological concepts and principles can be
said to have one purpose in mind: the proper organisation of eco-
nomic resources so as to satisfy the needs of God’s creatures as
revolving mainly around the needs of humankind and to preserve
the surrounding environment in particular and the universe in gen-
eral. The ultimate objective of the Islamic ideology cannot be rest-
ing therefore on a concept of “maximization” of any sort, utility,
profit or wealth, as that might be, but on the concept of the preser-
vation of the universe. A concept of maximization if adopted in
Islamic economics would be in conflict with the basic concept of
“moderation” that is embedded in Islamic ideology. Consequently,
“maximization” per se renders itself alien to the spirit of Islamic ide-
ology. We have seen above how the Prophet urged his followers to
be moderate even in their core practice of God’s worship. We can
see further that God emphasises in more than one occasion in the
Qur"àn that although He has ordained self discipline and full obe-
dience He has not prohibited the enjoyment of His bounty in life.
“And We have created you as a middle-of-the-road nation”, (Qur"àn,
2:143). This is not to say that Muslim economists have not used the
concept of maximization in their analysis, they have; though they
have applied it to objectives other than profit or wealth. But a thor-
ough scrutiny of the Islamic ideology would suggest a leaning towards
“moderation” than “maximization”. Among other things, modera-
tion has a particular advantage over “maximization”. It provides a
“balanced” framework and a pattern of behaviour, including that
involving economic decision making, while maximization is not free
from skewness in this pattern that may not guarantee a form of
normality.
Looking into the effect of the above basic philosophy on the eco-
nomic issues in Islam, the analysis below, in line with the spirit of
the religion, will focus on the economic resources that God has made
available to His creatures with a view to seeing how humankind, as
the trustees of these divinely resources, have been engineering these
resources. The analysis will look into these resources from the fol-
lowing perspectives:
Economic Resources: definition and perception
Economic Resources: forms of ownership
Economic Resources: economic development and production